


In My Arms Lies Eternity

by yxnnefer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Apostates (Dragon Age), Dalish Elves, Dragon Age II AU, Dragon Age Lore, Dwarves, F/M, Kirkwall (Dragon Age), M/M, Mages and Templars, Multi, Pirates, Qunari, Rating May Change, The Blight (Dragon Age), allura and coran are magic forest elves, hunk is a guardsman, lance is a mediocre pirate, pidge and matt are dwarves, the bromance between keith and shiro is strong, the rate this fic is going the romances will all be slowburn whoops, they're apostate mage buds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10102355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yxnnefer/pseuds/yxnnefer
Summary: Takashi Shirogane, an apostate mage who flees Ferelden during the Fifth Blight, becomes Kirkwall’s Champion and their last remaining hope when rebellion start to break the chains holding the city together.“Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls.From these emerald waters doth life begin anew.Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you.In my arms lies Eternity.” - Andraste 14:11





	1. Act One, Fleeing the Blight

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my dragon age 2 voltron fic uwu,,  
> This fic is heavily based on the events of Dragon Age 2 but even if you know nothing about the dragon age games i hope that I have written it in a way that it is understandable and enjoyable  
> Dragon Age is my passion and when I got this idea back when I watched Voltron season 1 last year I knew i had to write this!  
> if you have played the game, you will notice that I have loosely based the characters' backstories and arcs off the characters of dragon age 2.

~~~~

There’s no way he and his mother are going to make it to Gwaren, Shiro thinks. It’s only the two of them against the quickly approaching darkspawn and he’s the only one with a weapon; if you could even call the shitty wooden stick he was holding a ‘weapon’. However, the rickety staff was the best he could find as an apostate hiding out in a small village.

“We should’ve left sooner,” Yuki, his mother, says. She’s gripping her dress tight, holding it up above her ankles so that she won’t trip on the lengthy fabric. “Oh, Takashi, why didn’t we leave sooner?”

“It’s okay, Mother,” Shiro reassures her. “What matters is that we stay alive, okay? As long as we keep going we’ll make it. I swear.” He’s not all that sure he believes the things he’s saying but he has to keep his mother calm.

She feebly nods and runs to keep up with her son. Shiro slows down a bit, deciding to stay behind his mother so he can keep track of the darkspawn that are nearing. When they come too close, Shiro attacks them with a simple mind blast spell. It does not deal any damage but it knocks them back, giving Shiro and Yuki some time to run away.

Shiro almosts stops in his tracks when he hears voices. Actual voices. Speaking to each other. Not just darkspawn groans. He’s surprised, almost positive that everybody who didn’t have a death wish had already fled by now.

The voices are close now. Someone yells out in pain as Shiro and Yuki approach. They can now see two men outnumbered by darkspawn. Shiro holds his arm out in front of Yuki. “Stay back,” he says to her. She nods, and gently cups his face in her hands with a solemness that speaks volumes to him.  _ You’re all I have left,  _ she says to him, but not out loud. Understanding, he nods.

He rushes towards the fight. He immediately sees a thickset man with broad shoulders who is clearly accustomed to fighting from the way he is able to push against several genlocks using his shield. The man is in a rush to get over to the other one who is pinned down by a large hurlock. Shiro uses his staff to shove the creature off, before hitting it with a burst of flames. 

The man pulls himself up with a groan. “Thanks,” he says before they’re both thrown into the midst of battle. Shiro notices that the man doesn’t even have a weapon on him, but when the man lets out a bolt of electricity Shiro quickly realises that he doesn’t really need one. The guy’s an apostate, a runaway mage, just like him. Or well, not really. He’s clearly powerful enough to use magic efficiently without a staff.

Shiro and the two other men are tired, panting messes by the time they’re almost done with the last of the genlocks. It’s evident in the way they look at each other they’ve only survived by the skin of their teeth. 

When the last darkspawn finally falls, the staffless apostate takes a step back and pushes his dark hair away from his face. He looks up at Shiro and offers a half-smile. “I didn’t really have a chance to give a proper thanks but you really saved my ass back there.”

“It’s fine. We’re all trying to survive those Blighted things after all.”

Preoccupied, the broad-shouldered man is cleaning his sword of the tainted, darkspawn blood but does pipe up to agree with Shiro.“I wish everybody thought the same way. Some people are just too concerned with their own wellbeing to look out for others. We’re all brothers in this Blight. Anyway, I feel like I owe you thanks too. I don’t think Keith and I could’ve handled all those darkspawn alone. You really helped out.”

“It’s alright, we’re all brothers in this Blight as you said.”

“Which way are you headed?” the apostate, Keith, asks.

Shiro looks back to his mother, her small figure stepping out from the tree she hid behind during the fight. She approaches the group and nods in greeting.

“My mother and I are headed to Gwaren to catch a ship to The Free Marches. What about you two?” 

The broad-shouldered man shrugs. “I didn’t have a plan in mind. I fought at Ostagar with the King’s army and after that the Blight just pushed me to Lothering. I stayed there until my gut was really telling me something bad was gonna happen if I didn’t leave soon. Met Keith along the way and here we are.”

“And what about you?” Shiro asks Keith. 

Keith visibly pales. “Uh. I was travelling to… Redcliffe when news of the Blight broke out and yep, decided to get to Gwaren to leave Ferelden.”

Yuki gives Keith a suspicious look but doesn’t say anything. She is a naturally wary woman and Shiro can tell she is holding her tongue. She clearly does not believe Keith, but because she does not say anything Shiro decides to ignore Keith’s nervous attitude. “I suppose we should all head to The Free Marches together,” Shiro suggests.

“I agree.” The broud-shouldered man pauses before looking to Shiro again. “Sorry, I can’t remember if I got your name.”

“Oh. Just call me Shiro,” he says. He puts his hand on his mother’s shoulder. “And this is Yuki.”

“I would say nice to meet you, but well… this isn’t exactly the most pleasant meeting.”

Shiro chuckles at that. “You’re not wrong.”

“I’m Hunk, by the way.” He gestures to Keith, “And I mentioned this was Keith already, right?”

Shiro nods.

“Okay, since we’re all buddies now we should probably get going before the darkspawn get to us,” Keith says, walking ahead. They all follow on behind.

-

The sun is beginning to set when a sense of foreboding fills the air. The four travellers are quiet. So far, they have managed to travel a considerable distance with minimal darkspawn attacks but they know this luck must eventually run out. Shiro feels like this will be the moment when it does.

There’s heavy footsteps. Yuki looks out in the distance and when her deep onyx eyes spot the beast they dilate with horror. Shiro spots it merely seconds after her, and it’s evident the beast has spotted the group too.

Hunk unsheathes his sword and whispers a prayer, “May Andraste have mercy on our soul,” in a shuddering breath. His arm holding his shield is shaky but the hand holding his sword is shakier. At the same time, Shiro readies his staff. But before either of them have even taken a step towards the quickly approaching ogre, Keith is bolting towards it.

“Keith!” Hunk yells in pure shock and horror as Keith is easily,  _ easily _ picked up by the large ogre. As if he was nothing more than a tiny mouse. 

Yuki’s hands are clasped over her mouth as she looks on, terrified. She may not have trusted the boy but she felt nothing but utter shock as she realised this mere boy was about to be killed by this brutish monster.

Shiro knows he has to do something, but  _ what?  _ The thing was seconds away from throwing Keith to his death. Hunk is trying his best to hack at the ogre’s legs but when that does nothing, he resorts to throwing himself against the beast. Shiro takes a deep breath before launching a cone of ice at the hand holding Keith up. He has to try.

The ice wrap around the ogre’s right arm and Hunk quickly leaps up to try and hack the frozen limb off. Shiro has to be quick, as Keith had been released from the ogre’s grasp and is quickly falling. Shiro catches Keith but there is no time to breathe even the smallest sigh of relief. The ogre is still alive and Hunk has to kill it somehow.

The beast stumbles back to screech in pain at the loss of its right arm. Hunk knows he has to act quickly and he throws himself at the ogre, stabbing his sword right into the chest of the beast. It falls back and Hunk repeatedly stabs at the ogre until it finally bleeds to death.

“Fucking hell,” Keith breathes in disbelief as he gets to his feet. “Hunk, you absolute fucking tank”

Yuki clicks her tongue. “You might have nearly died but mind your language, dear.”

Keith sheepishly apologizes. 

Wiping away the blood from his face, Hunk, heavily panting, gets off the ogre. Shiro claps him across the back and Hunk grins back at him.

“I can’t believe we all survived that,” Hunk says. Seconds later, they all pale at the sound of flapping wings. “Maybe I spoke too soon,” Hunk feebly jokes.

It’s a dragon.  _ A dragon  _ is staring at them from it’s spot at the top of a cliff. Yuki looks like she’s ready to faint.

But curiously enough, the dragon just stares at them, unmoving. Until finally, the dragon lands in front of them, and suddenly turns into a… woman? A woman who is shrouded in hooded robes. They cannot see her eyes but the bottom half of her face is visible to them. Her skin is purple, the same purple that the dragon was. And red tattoos trail down to her chin. Shiro assumes they are those tattoos the Dalish always seem to adorn.

“You have done well,” she says, “I’m impressed. Not many vanquish an ogre and survive to tell the tale.”

Hunk can’t stop himself from asking the woman, “What are you?”

“I am known as many things, but the most familiar title being, ‘The Witch of the Wilds’. I am also known as Haggar if you must have a name.” 

“What the hell do you want from us?” Keith clearly has no patience for whatever games this woman is playing.

“A favour, in return for another favour. You wash my back I wash yours, or so the saying goes, yes?” Haggar holds up an amulet. “You talk of fleeing to Kirkwall, do you not? I can help you get there if you so wish. All you have to do is deliver this amulet for me.”

“And where do we deliver this amulet?” Shiro asks. “Why are you even trusting it with us? Aren’t you afraid we’ll run off with it or something?”

“This amulet must be delivered to the Altea Clan, residing by Sundermount. Give it to their Keeper. Keeper Alfor will know what to do with it there. And as for your second question: I’ve been following your group for a while. I know if anyone will do it, it will be you. It would be foolish to say no, yes? After all I am promising you a means of escape to this Blight.”

Shiro turns back to the rest of the group. “What do you guys think?”

Yuki places her hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Takashi, I think this woman will do as she says. It’s our only chance of getting to The Free Marches.”

“It sounds like bullshit to me,” Keith says, “But if anyone is going to get us to Gwaren it’s probably the woman that turned from a dragon into a woman right before our eyes.”

And Hunk merely says, “I trust whatever you choose to do, Shiro.”

“Okay,” Shiro says. “We’ll deliver your amulet for 

you.”

Haggar smiles before slipping Shiro the amulet. “Very good. You have made a wise choice, boy.”

-

Haggar makes good on her promise and clears the way to Gwaren of darkspawn. It is still a long, tiring journey but the journey is now without fear of death.

They eventually arrive, but the seas are rough and Shiro is absolutely terrified at the idea of boarding a ship when the sea looks as impending as it does. However, he knows that at he’d rather die at sea than at the hands of the Blighted darkspawn. 

The journey across to the Free Marches takes a further two weeks. They quickly discover that Hunk gets easily sea sick, and the poor guy spends of his time on board leaned over the side of the ship puking his guts out.

The moment Shiro’s eyes set sight on the menacing cityscape of the place known as “The City of Chains”, he can see why it has that particular namesake. The heavy chains that drape over the city and the surrounding area makes Shiro feel uneasy. Kirkwall is a city that looms tall, and he feels oh so small looking up at it.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, Shiro is so pleased to finally be off that damned ship. That relief doesn’t last long however when the group discover that Kirkwall is no longer taking anymore refugees.

“What will we do now?” Yuki panics. “We came all this way only for us to be sent back into the Blight!”

“Ugh, anything but getting on another ship,” Hunk groans. Shiro nods in agreement.

“They’re letting people who have business in Kirkwall in, right?” Keith says. “Well, then we just have to have business in Kirkwall.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Hunk asks.

“I didn’t think that far ahead.”

A group of men push and shove to try and get their way into the city. They shove at Keith, who in turn shoves back. Shiro knows he has to calm Keith down but before he even gets the chance to blink, a fight’s broken out. 

Keith’s smart enough not to use magic in a city like Kirkwall that’s filled to the brim with templars who won’t hesitate to throw him into the gallows. Instead, Keith fights off the men in a classic fist fight. 

Shiro and Hunk exchange an exasperated glance at each other before simultaneously thinking  _ ah, what the hell _ . All of them are frustrated at the fact Kirkwall’s refusing to let in refugees, may as well punch out their frustrations.

Shiro, Keith and Hunk take down the group of men like it was nothing. They did just spend a considerable amount of time fighting darkspawn after all. A few dudes with some weak armour and no weapons were no match.

Yuki glares at them all. “That was so stupid. What did that accomplish?”

“It accomplished getting my attention. You guys fight well. We need that in my line of work,” a tall, shady man wearing a hat and goggles says. “Look, I can make you an offer. I can get you into the city if you prove you’re worth the effort.”

“And who are you?” Keith asks.

“Name’s Rolo. Keep it hush-hush alright, but me an’ my right hand woman, Nyma, here,” he gestures to the elven woman next to him. “We’re smugglers, okay? You do an errand for us, complete it well and we’ll make sure we bribe you into the city.”

Shiro nods. “Okay. What’s the job?”

“There’s this merchant. We lent him money so he could set up shop but now he won’t pay up,” Nyma explains. “We can’t get near him. As soon as he we do he’ll call the city guard. You get that gold out of him and then we’ll start talking.”

“Right.”

Shiro, Keith and Hunk make their way to the merchant who’s pretty close by. The guy’s clearly shoddy, having set up shop near where the refugees are forced to stay before ships can get them back over to Ferelden. He’s offering to buy valuables off these refugees in exchange for money but it’s clear from the anger on the people’s faces as they argue with him that he’s ripping them off.

“You owe money to Rolo and Nyma. Pay up,” Keith blunty states. “Or else.”

Shiro tries to stifle a laugh. Keith sounded really cliché but he's trying his hardest to intimate the merchant and seems to be doing it well. However, the merchant might be reacting to the fact Hunk is drawing his sword very menacingly.

“I’m done with the bloody violence. I don’t want to start any fights,” the merchant says, raising his hands.

“Just hand over the money then, and we won’t bother you anymore.” Shiro says.

The merchant knows that he is outnumbered and so he hands over the sovereigns with a sigh.

“I really didn’t like doing that,” Hunk admits as they walk back to Rolo and Nyma.

Shiro nodded in agreement. “Neither did I, but… I think this is the only way we’re getting into Kirkwall.”

Rolo grins in delight as Shiro hands over the bag of sovereigns. “Well done. For that, we’ll hold up our end of the deal and get you guys, and your lovely mother, into Kirkwall.”

“But don’t think you’re done with us,” Nyma says. “You’ll be working for us now. For at least a year in order to pay off the debt of us getting you into the city.”

“Fair deal,” Shiro says, and he and Nyma shake hands.

  
And so Shiro, Keith, Hunk and Yuki make their way into Kirkwall. For the year at least. After that, Shiro isn’t sure what they’ll do.


	2. Act One, Kirkwall, A Year Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith meet a dwarf with a deal for them.   
> Meanwhile, things aren't quite right within the ranks of Kirkwall's City Guard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had most of this written out but then i decided i didn't like it.  
> i decided to tweak bits and i'm still not one hundred percent sure if im okay with it but it's a hell of a lot better than it was when i wrote my first draft.

Working for Rolo and Nyma is tiring and makes Shiro feel like a lowlife criminal, which is well, exactly what he is. Keith however, slips into the role of a ‘lowlife criminal’ a lot easier than Shiro does. He doesn’t enjoy it anymore than Shiro though.

Hunk worked alongside them for a little while, a few months or so really, but knowing how uncomfortable Hunk felt about the dirty work they were doing Shiro decided to take on more jobs so he could pay off Hunk’s debt also. Since then, Hunk has now joined the City Guard, which has definitely been a much better fit for Hunk. Shiro feels like the guy’s really settled into Kirkwall now.

Shiro supposes he will eventually have to get used to Kirkwall too. Even though it’s been about a year since he and Yuki fled their home in Ferelden, he still doesn’t feel like he’s adjusted to Kirkwall. The Blight has recently ended; a shockingly short one in comparison to the four Blights before it. The darkspawn horde have been pushed back down underground and if they wanted to, Shiro and Yuki could return to Ferelden. He misses it but he knows they will have to start their life all over again if they return. Lothering was overrun during the Blight; the village was destroyed. They have no home to return to. So really, there’s no point in going back to Lothering. They have a new life in Kirkwall and are getting by, so that is where they decide to stay.

The thing currently worrying Shiro the most, however, is what Keith and him will do now. It’s been a year and their debt has finally been paid off. Sure, they could continue to work for Rolo and Nyma. The two are actually surprisingly ethical for smugglers and they have expressed a want for Shiro and Keith to continue working for them. 

“We should stop working for Rolo and Nyma. I’m going crazy under their control,” Keith says to Shiro. They’re sat at their usual table at the Hanged Man, the local tavern, drinking ale and having their weekly chat. They only come here to get away from the small shack in Lowtown they share with Yuki. It gets awfully cramped and they don’t want to bother Yuki with talk of their smuggling work. “I don’t mind the work, you know that. I know it’s the only way you and I are going to get by in Kirkwall, but wouldn’t you rather have control over what we do? Have the ability to say no to certain jobs?”

Shiro nods his head. “So is that it then? We just leave? What should we do for money then?”

“I’m not sure,” Keith answers honestly. “It would make sense to keep working for Rolo and Nyma but I know you don’t like it, so I don’t want you to keep doing it.”

“Thanks, Keith.”

They leave the talk about their future in Kirkwall there, opting instead to finish their ale and instead make idle chat and gossip about the recent going-ons.

A dwarven girl makes her way into the tavern. She looks young but they pay her no mind. Plenty of young elves and such come into the tavern often, it’s not a surprising matter anymore. She looks like she’s searching for someone, her eyes skimming across everyone sat drinking. Her eyes land on Keith and Shiro and she immediately bounds over.

“Shiro and Keith right?” she asks, taking a seat at their table.

“Well I suppose you could take a seat,” Keith says sarcastically.

In reply, the dwarf smiles at him sardonically. “Gee thanks, serah. You’re so kind.” She places her elbows down onto the table until realising that was a very bad decision, as the table was sticky with alcohol and all other kinds of things presumably. She makes a disgusted face and quickly pulls her arms back.

“How do you know who we are?” Shiro asks curiously, before taking the last swig of his ale. 

“You boys have made a name for yourselves in the Kirkwall underworld,” the dwarf explains. “Shiro and Keith, or Keith and Shiro if you prefer. You’re the smugglers extraordinaire.”

“You’re yanking our chain,” Keith says with a roll of his eyes. 

“I am not!” the dwarf huffs. “Maybe I exaggerated a little but seriously, I know who you are. In the past year the only smuggling ring to survive has been Rolo and Nyma’s, and it’s all because of you two.”

Shiro leans back, taking the girl’s words into heavy consideration. Keith instead is quick to question her. “But how does someone like you know about Kirkwall’s underworld, huh?” asks Keith.

“You should know better than to judge a book by it’s cover. For all you know I could be the leader of the Coterie!”

“You’re not though are you?” Keith says smugly. She rolls her eyes at him. 

“Yeah but it was like, a metaphor. Anyway, I have my contacts. And that’s why I knew you were exactly the people I needed for the job.” She gives a mock curtsey as she introduces herself. “I’m Katie Holt, but everyone calls me Pidge.”

“Alright then, Pidge,” Shiro says, reaching across to her. They firmly shake hands. For a tiny dwarven girl, she has a surprisingly strong and firm grip. “Since you know exactly who we are already, what is it that you want us to do for you?”

“You guys need money, right? Of course you do, you’re Ferelden refugees. Here’s the offer: invest in my Deep Roads expedition and you’ll get half of the money we make. Which well, will be a lot.”

“But if we don’t have money, how can we invest?” Shiro asks.

“Well, I don’t have money either.” She pouts. “But I don’t want to get stupid, rich noble people investing into my expedition because they’ll be dumb. I need people with street smarts. So, help me get this expedition going and we’ll share the profits evenly? Please?” 

Shiro weighs the pros and cons in his mind. It was a risky investment for sure, who knew what there would be for them to find in the Deep Roads? Most dwarves didn’t even know what was down there, a majority of the place having had been lost to the darkspawn. Though, if there were any time to set out into the underground it would be now. After the Blight, the darkspawn should be mainly dormant. 

He looks over to Keith. His facial expression is hard to read but Shiro can tell he has made a decision. Whatever Keith decides, he will one hundred percent back him up.

Keith locks eyes with Shiro before speaking up. “We’re considering going independent from Rolo and Nyma. If you help us out, like, I dunno, help us find work, since you know oh so much about the Kirkwall underworld, we’ll try our best to fund this expedition.”

Enthusiastically, Pidge leaps from her seat. Joy is clear on her face. “Yes! I can totally do that.”

“I know we can start off doing tasks for the City Guard. They tend to pay citizens well for getting involved,” Shiro says. “It’ll be nice to see Hunk at work too.”

Keith agrees. “Let’s go pay Hunk a visit then.”

-

The City Guard is located within the Viscount’s Keep at the heart of Kirkwall. The place is bristling with busy guardsmen when Shiro, Keith and Pidge enter.

Hunk spots them immediately, practically leaping away from his paperwork to go over and speak to them.

“It’s good to see you two!” he says, wrapping Shiro and Keith into a close hug. “It’s been ages, guys!”

“Well, Rolo and Nyma have been keeping us busy, especially after you joined the Guard,” Keith points out. “And I hope you don’t feel guilty about that anymore. Shiro and I chose to do that work for you.”

Hunk smiles widely. “I’m never going to not feel guilty about it. I really appreciate what you two did for me. I’ve found my place here.”

“You look right at home,” Shiro says. “Anyway, we came here to ask if there was anything we could help with for coin. Our friend Pidge is planning an expedition into the Deep Roads and we’re trying to round up enough coin to invest.”

“Nice to meet you!” Hunk shakes Pidge’s hand. The size difference between them is quite comedical. Hunk having the tall, thickset build that he has and Pidge’s short dwarven stature, Shiro can’t help but crack a smile at the image of them standing together.

“Anyway,” Hunk says, pondering. “I suppose there is something I need help with. I have intel on a possible caravan raid just near Sundermount. Help me arrest some raiders?”

“Aren’t there Guards stationed there?” Pidge asks.

Hunk nods. “Yeah, but there’s only one. Guardswoman Florona is the only one stationed - which seems strange to me. There should be more, especially when word of ambush has been reported. Even if it turns out to be false, the City Guard should always be cautious.”

“That’s suspicious,” says Keith.

“Exactly my thoughts,” replies Hunk. “I’ll meet you at the base of Sundermount in two hours. Keith, don’t rush in and do something stupid. You’re working for the City Guard so I have to be there.”

Keith immediately goes to protest but Shiro is already pulling him away and out of the Viscount’s Keep.

-

They meet Hunk near Sundermount in the middle of the afternoon. The sandy outskirts of Kirkwall are hot and Shiro quickly feels sweat dampen his undershirt. Also feeling the heat was Keith, who chose to tie his shoulder length hair into a messy ponytail.

Hunk, in his full guard army and not even sweating, chirps, “I grew up in Rivain, this heat is nothing!” Pidge with a pink flush staining her skin, shakes her head at his cheerfulness even in this sweltering heat.

The group quickly discover Guardswoman Florona, the one guard stationed for patrol along this path, as Hunk mentioned earlier is there, barely keeping the Raiders off her. She’s outnumbered; one against six.

It’s not surprising that Keith is the first one to leap into action, hurling a nearby stone into the bandits using his magic. Shiro’s wary about using magic, especially around Pidge and Guardswoman Florona, but he won’t be able to hide the fact he’s a mage for very long if Keith’s already revealed himself. Shiro sighs, and Hunk gives him a knowing, sheepish smile before he’s already tackling one of the bandits to the ground and arresting them.

One of the bandits attempts to flee, but Pidge is already on it, drawing her mechanical-looking repeating crossbow. She shoots a bolt that lands in the fleeing bandit’s leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Guardswoman Florona rushes to apprehend the fallen man.

After all is well and done, and Hunk has the six bandits captured and ready to be thrown into the Gallows upon their return into the city, Florona runs up to Shiro, Keith, Pidge and bows her head. “I can’t thank you enough!”

Hunk shook his head, patting her on the shoulder. “We were just doing what seemed right. You never should have been left on patrol by yourself.”

Florana nods at that. “That route is normally patrolled by more than one officer so I knew something was off from the start. Even my satchel felt wrong. Like it was too heavy.”

“Can we look at it?” asks Shiro. Shiro and Keith looked at each other in agreement, this satchel had something to do with the ambush.

She slowly nods and hands Shiro the satchel. He takes a look into the bag before taking out a huge pile of parchment.

“Holy shit,” Pidge says snatching the documents right out of Shiro’s hands.

“What is it?” Hunk peers over Pidge’s shoulder. “No way,” he says, reading over the contents. “This is the Viscount’s Seal… along with the city accounts.”

“What does that mean?” Keith asks.

“The Guard Captain purposely sent Guardswoman Florona on this patrol in order to smuggle valuable information to these bandits. He sold out the city’s accounts to some thieves guild,” Hunk explains. 

“Knowing what he was planning to do… You could get Guard Captain Baku arrested! Hunk, you could become Guard Captain!” Pidge exclaims excitedly. “Oh man, that’d be the coolest!”

“I don’t care about becoming Captain. All I care about is making Guard Captain Baku pay for this crime against one of our own,” says Hunk.

-

Shiro, Pidge and Keith return to the Viscount’s Keep later that evening to check in with Hunk. They find him sitting with Florona at her desk, presumably filing paperwork for the earlier arrests of the thieves guild.

“So, I’m dying to know the situation of Guard Captain Baku,” Pidge excitedly rushes to the desk of the two city guards. “Please tell me everything!”

Keith nonchalantly leans against the wall, but it’s clear to Shiro that Keith is bursting with anticipation just like Pidge.

“Well, he was immediately arrested, of course,” says Hunk. “There’ll be more questioning before anything is decided, but he’s definitely gone from the City Guard for good.”

“I never liked him anyway,” says Pidge. “Always seemed too sketchy.”

“Not to mention, creepy as hell. The man always scared me,” Florona says, shuddering. “Always looked like he could just eat me or something.”

“Anyway,” Shiro says, breaking that train of conversation to ask the question everyone was dying to know the answer to. “Were you offered the position of Guard Captain, Hunk?”

“Actually…” Hunk blushes. “The Seneschal talked to me privately and told me I was definitely a candidate. But nothing is set in stone, guys! I’m not going to get my hopes up or anything.”

“They’d be bloody idiots not to make you Captain, honestly,” Keith says. He gently squeezes Hunk’s shoulder and is quickly taken by surprised when Hunk turns around and sweeps Keith into a hug.

“Keith, you’re so sweet!”

Shiro thinks he almost heard a yelp escape Keith’s mouth and he chuckles to himself.  
There was one good thing about the Blight, and that was how it brought these strangers together.

If Shiro were to remain friends with Keith, Hunk, and even Pidge whom he had only just met, maybe remaining in Kirkwall won’t be so bad. He might even enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't say when the next chapter will be bc i have exams coming up but i'll try to get it up sooner rather than later.  
> thanks for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> I have the next two chapters fairly done, but I do not think that this fic will be updated on a consistent basis merely bc I am badddd at consistency. I will aim for once a month to keep things manageable for myself.  
> hmu on tumblr - megane-momoi.tumblr.com


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